Unification Church

Founding and Early Development

The Unification Church, officially named the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity (HSA-UWC), was founded on May 1, 1954, in Seoul, South Korea, by Reverend Sun Myung Moon. Born in 1920 in what is now North Korea, Moon was raised in a Presbyterian family but was excommunicated for heresy after claiming a vision at age 16, where Jesus tasked him with completing his unfinished work. Moon’s theology, outlined in the Divine Principle (first drafted as Wolli Wonbon in 1946), posits that he is the Messiah sent to establish a literal Kingdom of God on Earth through “true families” created via mass weddings, known as Blessing Ceremonies. The church teaches a unique Christian theology, emphasizing the fall of Adam and Eve due to misused love and the need for spiritual and physical restoration.

By 1955, the church had expanded to 30 centers across South Korea. Moon faced persecution, including imprisonment by North Korean authorities in 1948 and South Korean scrutiny in the 1950s. In 1958, missionaries like Young Oon Kim were sent to Japan, and in 1959 to the United States, where the church grew significantly in the 1970s, attracting young converts disillusioned with the counterculture. By the end of the decade, U.S. membership reached about 5,000, with a global presence in over 100 countries. The church, renamed the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification in 1994, is known for its mass weddings, media ventures like The Washington Times, and controversial fundraising practices, leading critics to label it a cult and its followers “Moonies.” Expansion and Controversies

The Unification Church’s rapid growth in the 1960s and 1970s was accompanied by significant controversies. In South Korea, Moon’s early activities drew scrutiny, with allegations of sex rituals in the 1950s (later recanted by former member Chung Hwa Pak). In the U.S., the church faced accusations of brainwashing and high-pressure recruitment, prompting parental protests and deprogramming efforts. Moon’s 1982 conviction for tax evasion in the U.S. fueled perceptions of government persecution, though supporters, including mainline church leaders, defended him. In Japan, the church gained legal status as a religious corporation in 1964 but faced backlash for “spiritual sales,” defrauding elderly members of millions, leading to Japan’s largest consumer fraud investigation in 1997. The 2022 assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe by Tetsuya Yamagami, motivated by Abe’s ties to the church, led to its dissolution order in Japan in 2023.

The church established numerous organizations, including the Korean Culture and Freedom Foundation (1964), the International Federation for Victory over Communism (IFVOC, 1968), and News World Communications (1976), which owned The Washington Times until 2010. These groups extended Moon’s influence into politics, media, and education, often aligning with conservative and anti-communist causes.

Alleged CIA and KCIA Ties

The Unification Church’s alleged ties to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA) stem primarily from its anti-communist activities during the Cold War, particularly in South Korea, Japan, and the United States. These connections, while documented in some declassified records and congressional reports, remain controversial.

Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA) Involvement

A 1977 report by the U.S. House Subcommittee on International Organizations, chaired by Rep. Donald M. Fraser, alleged that the Unification Church was founded in 1961 by Kim Chong Pil, the first director of the KCIA, as a political tool to advance South Korean interests. A 1963 CIA report, cited by the subcommittee, stated that Kim organized the church to influence U.S. policy and counter communist infiltration among Korean communities abroad. The church reportedly had 27,000 members by 1963 and paid influential villagers to join, operating with significant financial resources.

The Fraser report detailed the KCIA’s use of the church and its affiliate, the Korean Cultural and Freedom Foundation (founded 1964, with former U.S. Presidents Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower as honorary presidents), to lobby U.S. officials. This included placing church members as volunteers in congressional offices and organizing pro-South Korea propaganda, such as demonstrations at the United Nations. The report also suggested KCIA involvement in Moon’s 1974 campaign to support President Richard Nixon during the Watergate scandal.

Testimony from church official Dan Fefferman in 1977 confirmed social ties with South Korean embassy officials but denied direct KCIA control. The subcommittee recommended a contempt citation against Fefferman for refusing to answer specific questions about KCIA ties to Moon’s National Prayer and Fast Committee. Bo Hi Pak, Moon’s aide, was identified as a key link to South Korean intelligence, though church leaders consistently denied government connections.

The 1978 Fraser report noted “active cooperation” between the KCIA and Moon’s organizations during the Koreagate scandal, where the KCIA allegedly bribed U.S. officials to reverse Nixon’s troop withdrawal from South Korea. The report suggested the church’s political activities were a front for South Korean geopolitical goals, though Moon claimed his actions were divinely inspired.

CIA Connections

Allegations of direct CIA ties are less substantiated but arise from the church’s anti-communist activities aligning with U.S. interests. A 1978 congressional report noted that the Unification Church was involved in weapons and munitions manufacturing in South Korea since the 1960s, which members justified as a requirement for doing business in the country. This raised speculation about CIA awareness or involvement, given the agency’s role in establishing the KCIA post-World War II.

In the 1980s, the church’s affiliate, CAUSA International, directly supported the CIA’s efforts to fund the Nicaraguan Contras after Congress cut off CIA funding. CAUSA, led by Bo Hi Pak, sponsored the documentary Nicaragua Was Our Home (1986) and paid for flights for Contra leaders, with supplies sourced from various U.S. groups, including Moon’s church, according to contemporary CIA reports. This suggests the church filled a funding gap for CIA-backed operations.

Claims of deeper CIA involvement, such as the church being a CIA creation, are largely based on secondary sources like Bob Fitrakis’ 2012 article, which alleges Moon was a CIA asset tied to the Bush family. These claims cite the church’s political lobbying, including alleged bribery of U.S. officials and support for conservative causes, but lack primary CIA documents. The CIA’s role in founding the KCIA is acknowledged, but assertions that the KCIA was a “Korean arm of the CIA” are debated, with critics noting the agencies operated independently despite shared interests.

The church’s ties to U.S. conservatives, including George H.W. Bush (who spoke at Moon’s events in the 1990s) and evangelical leaders like Jerry Falwell (whose Liberty University received Moon’s financial support), fueled speculation of CIA alignment, given the agency’s history of leveraging anti-communist groups.

Sources

• Wikipedia, Unification Church • Wikipedia, Unification Church and Politics • The New York Times, “Unification Church Called Seoul Tool,” March 15, 1978 • The Washington Post, “House Subcommittee’s Report Links Rev. Moon to the KCIA,” August 4, 1977 • Nippon.com, “An Unholy Alliance,” March 2, 2023 • Scoop News, “Reverend Moon: Cult Leader, CIA Asset,” September 4, 2012 • CIA FOIA, “Moon’s Church Founded by Korean CIA Chief,” 1978 • Simple Wikipedia, Unification Church • Nippon.com, “The Unification Church and Its Japanese Victims,” October 27, 2022